12 Days of Vauseman Christmas
by brennan8319
Summary: Vauseman AU. Twelve fluffy one shots, mostly based on prompts.
1. Chapter 1

**Tumblr prompt: One person in your OTP proposes using the big box with smaller boxes inside gimmick**

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"I'm about two seconds from passing out on this couch, so I guess that means it's time to go," Polly said, holding out her hand to Pete so he could pull her up.

"Are you sure?" Piper asked. Alex shot a nervous glance in her direction. Was she really asking them to stay longer? She quickly looked away and busied herself clearing the empty glasses from the coffee table. "I mean, it's almost midnight. You guys might as well stay and do gifts with us."

"I don't know…"

Polly was considering it. Alex made a conscious decision to not look up. Eye contact with any of them would be the end of it. She'd give in and join Piper in begging them to stay, even thought it was the last thing she wanted. She wanted them out. Piper alone. Alex tucked an empty wine bottle under her arm before scooping up another two glasses, and hurried off to the kitchen.

"Oh come on, Pol," she heard Piper pushing and her friend responded in a non-committal tone, with words Alex couldn't quite make out.

She deposited the glasses on the counter top and then the bottle from under her arm. And then her knees stopped working. Alex slumped into one of the bar chairs and buried her head in her hands, anxious fingers sliding through her hair. Breathe. It wasn't the first time that day that she was forced to remind her body how to do it. Every time she thought about it, the systems in her body that usually worked without being told how, seemed to fail horribly.

Nicky was convinced she was making a mistake. Bad timing, she'd said. And when Alex asked what her idea of good timing was, she'd replied with never. Not the best wingman when it came to objective reasoning, but it was the only one she had. And now her friend's doubts were ringing in Alex's head as if they belonged there. Purring and strutting their stuff in a bid to win her over. To make her take them on as her own so she'd change her mind. Alex straightened and took in a deep, steadying breath. That wasn't going to happen. She might be close to throwing up again and she might be more scared than she'd ever been in her life, but there would be no changing of minds tonight.

"Honey…" Alex jumped a few feet off the ground at Piper's sudden appearance in the kitchen. She whirled around to face her, too freaked out to school her features into a state of normalcy. "Are you okay?" Shit. I look like a deer caught in headlights.

"Yeah, I just… you scared me." Alex attempted a light-hearted chuckle but it came out all choked. Oh god. Her throat burned as she forced back down whatever liquid had tried to burst out of her just then.

Piper didn't notice. Thank goodness. She was buzzing on good wine and Christmas. She was always unnaturally giddy this time of year. Mostly it got on Alex's nerves. Nobody should be _that_ happy all the time. Now though, she was grateful, because it was exactly that heightened state of delirium that just saved her ass.

"Polly and Pete aren't staying." The blonde was disappointed and Alex tried to mirror it with a sympathetic head tilt and a slight shrug of the shoulders. Inside she was high-fiving and air-punching. "Walk them out with me?"

"Huh?"

"Our guests… be a cordial hostess and come with me to walk them out."

"Oh, uh…" This is the gap she'd been waiting for. Piper goes out with them and she gets the thing and does the thing so when she gets back, the thing is ready. Alex looked at Piper looking at her expectantly.

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe should've eased up on the wine."

Wine. Perfect. "Yeah, actually, I'm not feeling so hot. Headache." She swallowed hard. But there was nothing to swallow. Her mouth was dry and her tongue felt like sandpaper. "Would you mind if I hang back? I think I'm going to grab a couple of Tylenols and wait it out on the sofa."

"Hmmm, I think that's a good idea." She placed a soft kiss on Alex's lips. "I've been waiting all week to see your face when you see what I got you. I don't think I could put it off until tomorrow. Take the pills. Feel better."

She watched Piper leave and a shaky breath escaped her lips. Alex heard the muffled notes of conversation starting up in the front room again. And then start to fade. They were moving down the hallway. It would take them five seconds to reach the door and another two for all of them to get out on the street. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Alex spun on her heel and rushed into the pantry. She didn't need to switch on the light. She'd memorized the position of the bulk sugar container. Where it sat on the shelf, what the exact level was of the sugar inside it. It was her way of making sure it wasn't tampered with. Alex pulled the heavy container from the shelf and let it drop at her feet. The snap lid could open on one side for easy pouring but she didn't want to pour sugar right now. She ripped the lid off entirely and sent it flying across the small, dark space. They were out on the street now. Alex plunged both her hands into the grainy powder and swished them around. Knowing Pete, he was spouting some stupid anecdote, trying to get Piper and Polly to laugh. Where is it? The sugary hands became more determined in their quest. Piper would laugh. Polly would snark. This would set Pete off on some other tangent. Shit. She should've done this earlier. When Piper was at the store. That would've given her over enough time. She'd thought about it, of course. But in her current state, Alex felt like Bilbo Baggins and preferred not to go close to it until absolutely necessary. She blew a puff of air out of her mouth to clear the hair that was currently obscuring her limited vision in the dark pantry. But her breathing had become considerably frantic in the past few seconds and a sharp intake of breath immediately followed the puff, succeeding in pulling a few strands of hair into her mouth. And down her throat. Alex choked and spluttered as she tried to cough her hair back up. The whole time not giving up on the task at hand. Piper would be getting cold now. She'd be rubbing her arms, dancing on the spot. Telling her friends to get into the cab already. The hands were fishing around the container in utter frenzy, leaving a sugary mess all around it that crunched under Alex's shuffling feet. Shit shit shit! No time. I'm out of time. She was sure she could hear Piper's snow-muted footsteps ambling back up the walk. Obviously that was impossible. But her ears were burning under the strain of trying to pick up on her exact moment of entry into the apartment. Once that happened…

"Yes!" Her fingers finally closed on the object, terrifyingly cold in its sugar ocean, and Alex straightened quickly, dusting it off on her pants as she stepped back into the kitchen, the sudden light of the room making her squint.

"Alex?"

Shit! She was inside already? Her voice sounded like it was coming from the bedroom. Good. She probably thought I went to lay down. Alex used the extra time to straighten her hair. And her face. She couldn't give anything away.

"Alex?" Piper called again.

This time she was a lot closer. Making her way back to the kitchen, no doubt. She nervously fidgeted with the glasses on her nose, but her hands were shaking so badly she ended up knocking them off her face. Alex glimpsed Piper's slim figure appear in the kitchen right when she was in the middle of her crazy spaghetti-armed scramble to save the black frames before they hit the ground. Great. Way to play it cool, Vause.

"I'm not going to ask," Piper said as Alex finally managed to trap her glasses between her hand and a sticking out hip.

The blonde moved soundlessly into the kitchen, taking care to skirt around the brunette who stood rooted to the spot, looking like a wax figure of someone executing a butt-slapping dance move. While being scared shitless at the same time. Better pull it together or this ship is sunk. Alex replaced her glasses while Piper opened another bottle of wine. By the time she turned back around, it was a cool and collected face that Piper was looking into.

"I don't want to drink alone, but you can just sip slowly if your head's still really bad." She held a glass out to Alex and took a sip of her own drink.

Hands don't fail me now. Alex stretched out her hand to take the drink and was relieved when everything worked the way it was supposed to. Piper moved into her, wrapping her arm around Alex's waist as they made their way to the front room. The brunette dipped her head slightly to the side and inhaled. The sweet smell of Piper instantly filled her up and a warm sense of calm spread through her. She should have done that ages ago. Just ran up to her in the middle of dinner and sniffed her head. It would've saved her a lot of unnecessary panic.

Piper broke away and started toward the couch but Alex stopped and grabbed hold of her hand and when the blonde looked back questioningly, Alex wordlessly tipped her head to the side, motioning at the space in front of the fireplace. Her intentions were met with a warm smile and Piper let Alex lead her around the table, the two of them sinking onto the plush rug together.

"Mmmm… good idea," Piper said. She placed her glass on the table behind them and drew her knees up to her chest, curling her arms around them.

A nod. That was all Alex could manage in that moment. Her stomach flipped over twice and she looked at the clock on the mantle. Three minutes to midnight. Might as well be a hundred years. She could feel Piper's gaze burning into her, but preferred to focus on the warmth of the dying blaze in front them instead, the wilting flames dancing their last dance. And now we wait…

Alex lifted her glass to her lips and took a generous gulp of wine, grimacing slightly as the bitter taste swirled over her tongue before she swallowed. If only she had something a little stronger, she thought, absently twirling the stem of the glass between her fingers. Then she could breeze her way through a blur of a gift exchange. But that's just it, the voice in her head spoke up now. You don't want it to be a blur. You want the knot in your belly and the sweaty palms and the pounding heart. Because that means you're not wrong. Alex finally turned to look at Piper. Chin resting on her knees, eyes glazed over and burnt orange instead of blue, staring into the crackling embers. It was all Alex could do to keep from reaching out and touching her, just to make sure that she was in fact real.

"I think next year we should definitely try the apricot glaze," Piper murmured, and it was a while before Alex registered that she'd said anything, so caught up was she in the quiet vision of her.

"Yeah, definitely," she eventually croaked, her voice broken from too little use and her throat closed from too much nerves.

Piper turned to her then. "Is it about tomorrow? Lunch with my family?"

"What?" Seriously… what?

"The way you've been acting… like you're having a nervous breakdown but in stages, instead of all at once."

"Oh… I mean…"

"We've put it off for long enough, Al. You're a part of my life and you're not going anywhere. My parents have to get that eventually."

I'm not going anywhere… The drumming in Alex's ears started to subside a little and a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the fire in front of her. She checked the time again and this time Piper looked too.

"Midnight!" Excited clapping broke the cloak of serenity that had enveloped them and Alex's gaze dropped to fall on a beaming Piper, practically jumping out of her skin with excitement. "Oh my god I can't wait to see your face!" It was clear she was trying to contain herself but this was Piper, and it was Christmas, so naturally she was failing.

"Wait…" Alex's outstretched hand touched Piper's knee and the blonde surveyed her curiously. "Me first."

She got up (Wow, the legs work. That's a good start.) and made her way to the small tree in the corner of the room. The floor around it was littered with gift wrapped surprises in all shapes and sizes and Alex kneeled down, stretching over various name tags until her hand fell on the only one she was interested in. Piper's eyes were dancing with excitement when Alex returned to her seat beside her, holding a large box covered in bright red paper and finished off with a gold bow.

"I think I know what it is," Piper said and made to take the gift. But it was stuck.

Alex, head hung low, eyes closed, breathed deep and exhaled slowly through her nose. This is it. She felt Piper tugging on the box in her hands but her fingers weren't ready to let go just yet. Once that happened…

"Uh, Alex?"

Her fingers responded to Piper's voice by defying her one and only command - wait until I'm ready before you let go. And Alex was left feeling like someone who had just been thrown into a raging ocean, trying to grab onto a steady chance at life, but couldn't find one. Who was she kidding… she'd probably never have been ready. So it was a good thing that Piper was like a little kid when it came to this kind of thing or she would've been holding on for who knows how long. The blonde lifted the box to her ear and shook it dramatically, all the time wearing a wide grin. Alex bit the inside of her lip and watched as shreds of paper were ripped off and carelessly tossed aside. She opened the box. Alex noticed the slightest furrow on her brow as she found another smaller box inside. Piper looked up at her, eyes narrowed.

"What are you up to?"

Alex tried to smile but felt her face distort in some weird way instead. Luckily Piper's attention was elsewhere, as she started unwrapping the second box, a little less violently now that her curiosity was piqued.

Another container, roughly the size of a shoebox this time.

Piper just shook her head, still wearing that silly smile, and proceeded to get through the next lot of wrapping. Alex bit her lips together when the last of the paper fell to the floor and Piper lifted the lid. She looked to the fire, half expecting to find it blazing full on because god, it was suddenly way too hot in there and when she looked back, Piper was holding the last of the boxes in the palm of her hand. But she wasn't unwrapping this one. She wasn't even looking at it. Blue eyes were staring straight at her. No more giddy smiles or childish excitement. If there was any kind of saliva in her mouth to speak of, Alex would've done another one of those hard swallows. As it turned out, there wasn't. So she didn't.

"What's in this thing?"

Why don't you open it and see? Is what she would've said if she were a normal person capable of normal speech. In that moment, there was nothing normal about the Alex sitting in front of her girlfriend wishing she'd open the box already and wishing she wouldn't open it. The sound of tearing paper filled the silence around them and Alex watched with bated breath (honestly, she wasn't sure she'd been breathing at all since she got back from the tree) as Piper gently removed the wrapping. Look at her face. You're going to want to look at it. Really look. Eyebrows shot up and then furrowed and then relaxed.

"Al?..." It was a whisper.

Blue eyes lifted to meet her. Maybe they were welling but Alex couldn't be sure because her own were kind of misty too.

Piper held up the smallest of the boxes. It was black velvet.

"Am I opening this one?"

"If you want to…" Her voice trailed off.

"It doesn't matter if I want to. That's not the point."

"It's your choice. I can't make you open it if you don't want to."

"Alex…do you want me to open it?"

"Yes." Wait, isn't that Piper's line?

"What am I going to see when I do?"

"What?"

"I just don't want to be surprised…"

"You love surprises!" Is she for real right now?

"Usually, yes, but this is… this is…"

"Just open it already!" Knot in her belly, sweaty palms, pounding heart… It was real. Really real…

Piper perched the box on the tips of the fingers of her one hand and gently lifted the lid with the other. Alex saw the fleeting look of surprise wash over her features and then get replaced with confusion. Her own fingers were already digging around in her pocket.

"Earrings?"

"In case you didn't like the ring I got you." Piper's head shot up to see Alex holding out a diamond ring that seemed to be trembling profusely. "It was in the sugar." Wait what?

"What?"

"Nothing. This is a ring. Please take it. Or don't," Alex stammered.

"You don't want me to take it?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Why wouldn't I want to?"

"I don't know… maybe you like the earrings better."

"You can never have too many earrings."

"Exactly."

"But I think I'd like the ring…"

"You would?"

"Yes." There it was – her line. The smile was back now. She made to take the ring from Alex.

"Wait." She pulled it just out of Piper's reach. "I should probably tell you… if you take this, you're going to have to marry me."

And Alex was suddenly thrown back under the blonde's weight as she dived her over in a mess of discarded wrapping and empty boxes. She could feel Piper's smile on her lips as she kissed her, warm and sweet, with a hint of salt from the tears that were now mixed there too. Alex snaked her arms around her fiancé and melted into the feel of her, struggling to think what she was so freaked out about in the first place. Of course she'd want the ring. Why wouldn't she say yes? She was a part of her life. And she wasn't going anywhere…


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who dropped a line on the last shot. I really appreciate you beautiful people following my fics and saying nice things:)

So my original plan was to do a Vauseman!fluff countdown to Christmas but there's something like a week left and ten shots to go? (and BB that needs updating yesterday!) So um yeah, I'll see what I can manage:) (and will sleep when I'm dead)

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 **Prompt from Kojojo: Mistletoe**

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Christmas at the Country Club. A social obligation that Piper had to fulfill to keep her parents happy. And she wanted them happy, because that would make it easier for her to get to the party she actually wanted to attend later with her friend, Polly. Still, preserving the fresh-faced, painfully polite socialite façade required of her at these events was incredibly hard when surrounded by the self-righteous and entitled elite that her parents called friends. And it got considerably harder the more time passed (and more alcohol was consumed). In the last half hour alone she'd been cornered by the three-time champion of the English Rose gardening cup, whose interest in Piper was brought on by her thirst for gory details about her parents' separation of two years ago and the events that led to their reunion not long after, and then swept up by two different men – potential suitors, her mother called them – wanting desperately to be her plans for the rest of the night. One of them, Piper had to admit, was especially handsome, and the top plastic surgeon in the city. But her interest died down quickly when she learned that he knew exactly how handsome he was. And that after a few glasses of expensive whiskey, his conversation became rather handsy.

She ducked around a corner and into an over-enthusiastic flowering fern. Much to her relief, because the duck was her attempt at taking cover and the fern was doing a pretty good job of helping her cause. The swift disappearing act had been necessitated by her spotting the plastic surgeon on the terrace on her way back from the ladies. He was in the middle of another hands-on tête-à-tête with her mother no less, and Piper didn't want to risk being seen and asked to join them. Shrill laughter rang out in the hallway behind her and Piper instantly recognized the grating sound of her mother's faux delight. Shit. They were coming back inside. Piper pressed her back against the wall and held her breath as a group of guests, including the two she was actively avoiding, drifted past and into the hall. Exhaling slowly, she peeked through the leafy foliage and watched as her mother sauntered across the room as if she wasn't just felt up by a man who wasn't her father. Her eyes then scanned the area until she found the man who wasn't her father, tracking his movements until he eventually found a place at the bar. Good. He should be there for a while. The tension left her body and she went from hiding out to simply standing next to a large plant. And then the clutch in her hand vibrated. If it's not one thing, it's the other…

Piper pulled out her phone and tapped the screen to reveal the text message that had just come through.

 _Polly_

 _Commence Operation Ditch the Bitch in T minus 1hr_

Her friend had a way with words alright. She typed a quick reply:

 _Meet you outside. Don't forget my outfit._

She buried the phone in the clutch again. It wouldn't be the first time that she changed in the back of Polly's car. The mere fact that her mother approved of her current attire meant that she wouldn't be caught dead with it in the real world. One more hour to go. Piper's eyes scanned the room as she thought about what the most painless way to pass the time would be. She was bored out of her mind, so the logical thing to do would be to find the most colorful character and strike up a conversation. And then repeat…

"Ass-grabbing Surgeon just spotted you," a low, husky voice came from behind her, making Piper jump in fright.

"Excuse me?" She turned in the direction the sound came from, but saw nothing.

"You're not very good at this hiding out thing." The voice came again.

A deep furrow creased Piper's brow and she leaned around the wall, coming face to face with a waiter, the only other person in the hallway and therefore, the only logical source of the comments she'd just heard. "Do I know you?"

The woman glanced over Piper's shoulder and then back at her with a smile. "Looks like he has to pass Gabby Homewrecker and she'll definitely pull him aside because she's in the field for a new nose."

Piper followed her gaze and saw the handsy plastic surgeon making his way from the bar, looking directly at her. Then a hand came out of a group he was passing, stopping him in his tracks. She was right. Piper turned to the waiter at her side. Her dark hair was swept up in a bun and little wisps had fallen, framing her face. Luminous green eyes bore a mischievous glint behind her secretary glasses. She studied her face, her own expression one of mild interest, thinking how the clean-cut rent-a-waiter's uniform contrasted with that look in her eye and the smirk curled onto her lips.

"I don't know your face, which means you're new here. So how did you know Gabby Home- I mean, Miss Braithwaite was going to pull him in?"

"Reading people – it's my thing," the brunette said with a shrug. "I'd say you have about three minutes to find a new hideout before he gets bored and remembers why he moved from the bar in the first place."

"I don't know…" Piper mused, looking back at the object of their conversation, "they look pretty cozy. He likes the touching and she likes being touched."

"Yeah, but she talks too much and too much of it's bullshit. Look at his face… she's already losing him. Two minutes." That last was spoken right in her ear and Piper shifted her eyes (she was too scared to turn her head all the way) to see the brunette had wedged her face between the wall and Piper's head, the minimal space between their cheeks pulsing like a live charge.

Piper swallowed hard, completely flustered by the unexpected breach of her personal space and the unexpected effect it was having on her. "Why?" she whispered.

The question made the warmth of the almost contact disappear as the woman straightened and Piper was almost sad that she'd said anything to begin with.

"Why what?"

"Why two minutes?" She tore her eyes from the surgeon to rest them once again on the face that was becoming more intriguing by the second. She was enjoying speaking to someone who wasn't a total bore and wanted to keep it going. (For an hour?)"Why won't he just excuse himself and walk away?"

"He's a perv, but he's also a nice guy," she replied. "So he'll be polite and wait for her to reach a pause in her story. Take this." She pushed a glass of champagne into Piper's hand and the blonde realized for the first time that she was carrying a tray laden with drinks. "No schmoozing with the guests," the waiter explained off her questioning look. "The boss has to think I'm working and not just standing around… not working."

Piper smiled at the clear irritation in the woman's tone. "What's his name? The boss… we've had Ass-grabbing Surgeon and Gabby Homewrecker…"

"Prick Face," she deadpanned and it caused a snort of laughter to burst from Piper who had to lift her hand over her mouth to catch the champagne that splattered out.

"Who are you?" The appeal and wonder was clear in her voice when she asked it.

"I'm Alex. Here…" She held out a napkin and Piper took it up, patting her mouth and hand dry.

"Well, Alex…" Alex. She liked it. It felt right in her mouth when she said it. "I guess I better make myself invisible again… for both our sakes apparently."

"How so?"

"I don't want you to get in trouble for excessive schmoozing with guests."

"Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome. And thanks for saving my ass, quite literally."

"Any time, kid."

Piper let her brush past and into the hall, watching closely as Alex weaved her way through the crowd, the smell of her lingering… making Piper linger, just so she could be in it a little longer.

And then time seemed to be the last thing on her mind and people were a lot less bothersome as she ventured into the party area and, much to her mother's delight, mingled with everyone there, always making sure to be in deep conversation when Ass-grabbing Surgeon moseyed by. But her sudden gracious affability had nothing to do with living up to social expectations and everything to do with a certain dark-haired waiter. Piper felt inexplicably drawn to her mysterious energy, utterly captivated as she watched Alex move silently through the room, pausing only when a drink was taken or an empty glass was given. The clutch in her hand vibrated a few times but she didn't want to look at her phone. Because then she'd have to look away. So Piper had opinions on seasonal cuttings and vineyards in Italy and corruption in the Pulitzer voting panel. Anything that would keep her floating around inconspicuously, as Alex floated around her. And every time her roaming eyes landed on the slim figure standing taller than most of the people there, Piper would find impossibly resplendent green eyes looking right back at her. They'd share a smile, a nod – like each was aware of the other's plight, stuck in a place where they were forced to be something they weren't.

At one point Alex winked in passing and her train of thought buckled on itself and crashed and burned, forcing Piper to ask the woman with too much make-up to please repeat the question. Her eyes followed the retreating waiter who was stifling a laugh as she went. And then it became a game… Alex tried to trip her up, while she tried to get through it unscathed and be a good little WASP. As the evening drew on, Piper found it harder to fight the laughter that bubbled under whenever Alex pulled a face or made some obscene hand gesture behind the back of the person she was speaking to, and eventually – for lack of a better plan – she escaped to the terrace where she could recover without having to look at Alex. Unfortunately, she walked straight into Ass-grabbing Surgeon as she got there.

"Piper! I see you managed to escape," he said with a dashing, perfect-toothed smile.

"Excuse me?"

"Cecelia, she had you cornered for the past ten minutes. I tried signaling you to ask if I should come over and save you, but you didn't notice."

"Oh," was the only response she had to give. She didn't notice him. In all honesty, she hadn't noticed anything since running into Alex. There was no room in her head for anything else. And then as if on cue, her clutch vibrated again.

Piper dug the phone out and groaned at the display. Six text messages and four missed calls. She ran her finger over the screen to call up the latest text:

 _Polly_

 _We're here._

Could it have been an hour already? Just like that?

"Refreshments?" The familiar husky voice called Piper's attention and she looked up to find Alex with an outstretched tray. Eggnog this time. A knot of disappointment curled in her stomach and Piper realized, much to her amazement, that she didn't want to leave the club's horrible Christmas party. That she would be quite happy to stay there all night, in fact.

"No thank you. Piper?"

"Not for me. I'm actually… I have to go…" Her tone was laced with apology and regret. She glanced at Alex just long enough to see her eyebrows raise in questioning surprise before dropping her head to focus intensely on putting her phone away.

"Vause, we need more ice."

Piper turned to see another rent-a-waiter calling to them from the hallway. Definitely Prick Face by the way those hands perched on his rigid hips. And Vause…? She looked up at Alex who was already bowing out of their company and making her way back inside. Really? Was that going to be the end of it? Her clutch vibrated again. Apparently so…

"Please excuse me," Piper said and disappeared without waiting for any kind of acknowledgement from the surgeon.

She only became aware of the fact that she was running when she got to the door to the back kitchen and had to physically stop herself from bursting through it. She might not be alone. There might be other waiters helping with the ice thing. Piper pushed the door slowly, schooling her features to the best version of easygoing inquiry she could manage in such a short space of time. She was prepared to walk through the kitchen to look for Alex, but as it turned out, the ice machine was right there. And so was she.

"You're not supposed to be back here," the brunette said, lifting a freshly filled ice bucket to the table behind her and moving on to the next one without pause.

"Will I get in trouble for schmoozing with the help?" It was supposed to be cute and funny but Piper cringed the second the words left her mouth.

"What did you just call me?" She sounded mildly amused more than offended and Piper loosened up a little.

"Sorry… I didn't mean…"

Alex turned to put the second bucket on the table and as she did, the metal lid of the ice machine slammed down, making them both jump. It also brought Piper's attention to something else.

A knowing smile made its way onto her lips. "Oh look, something else that's not supposed to be back here."

A leafy twig was suspended above them, dangling from what looked like a broomstick laying flat on top of the ice machine.

"I swiped it from the lobby. Reading people… it's my thing, remember?" And she was smug about it, too.

"So you figured I'd come back here and you'd what, manipulate me into kissing you?"

"That, and also that the bubbles in your system would make you an easy mark."

"Wow, you are so full of it."

The brunette chuckled. "I knew it was a long shot. But you can relax, I don't buy into the mistletoe thing anyway."

She watched as Alex started digging in the ice again, effectively brushing her aside along with whatever expectations she may have had. Her brain was buzzing under the weight of that fourth drink, but Piper was pretty sure the light, heady feeling couldn't be blamed on alcohol. And she didn't want to be brushed aside. There was something about the good girl breaking bad on hallowed ground that emboldened her.

"Me either," she said, moving to close the gap between them. "Which is neither here nor there since this is holly."

Alex straightened and her barefaced puzzlement was instantly replaced with surprise as Piper leaned in, planting her lips on hers and although deliberate, the kiss was soft, shy almost. She felt a hand come to rest on her back, firmly pulling her closer and Piper responded by parting her lips ever so slightly. She felt a warm tongue brush against hers with the lightest of touches before disappearing again and sighed slowly as the sweet contact was broken.

"So that's what it feels like…" Alex murmured, "being manipulated into kissing someone."

"Horrible, wasn't it?"

"The worst." This time it was Alex who leaned in to take Piper's mouth with hers.

And this time there was nothing shy about it.


End file.
